Blog Search Results

Lent: Day 8 - Ignatius to the Romans

...f God’s grace. This right here sums up everything Ignatius is saying and desires. His resolve is steadfast, even with the opportunity to get out of this situation via help from the Roman church. I wonder how many of us, myself included, would have such strength of faith in the face of death? As Ignatius said, he wants to “not merely be called a Christian, but really found to be one” through his actions and outward faith, whatever the circumstances. He does give us a small insight into what drives him during this time, because not only is he facing execution, but has ten soldiers guarding him who are not exactly treating him well, by the sounds of thing...

Lent Day 21: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 1-10

...I but the grace of God which was with me’ (1 Corinthians 15:10)” because we can do nothing of our own. Not boasting nor being puffed up in this victory, he, “having learned from the Scriptures that the devices of the devil are many (Ephesians 6:11), zealously continued the discipline”, because he knew that the devil “would endeavour to ensnare him by other means” still. Continuing more with his discipline, he would not focus nor remember the past, but would press on with the current day and what lay before, meditating on Paul's words; Philippians 3:14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Battl...

Lent Day 22: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 11-20

...f God’s grace.  ...

Lent Day 33: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XXII

...d at this grace found in the Eucharist in Ecclesiastes 9:7-8. “Go, eat your bread with enjoyment … Let your garments always be white” – receive the joy that Christ gives and press on toward salvation now you have put off the old garment and are clothed with a garment which is always “spiritually white”. Cyril closes off his lecture by saying that now his new converts have “learned these things”, they should be fully assured that, “the seeming bread is not bread, though sensible to taste, but the Body of Christ; and that the seeming wine is not wine, though the taste will have it so, but the Blood of Christ”. The more I've looked into this...

Francis Chan turns towards a more historical and ancient view of Communion

...means of grace that God uses). Ignatius was writing against a heretical group who were teaching a false doctrine about Jesus not really coming in the flesh, and uses communion as an example to prove the opposite, which also gives us an interesting and early view on the sacraments: “They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again.”— Ignatius Of Antioch: Letter To The Smyrnaeans (c.108 AD) At first reading I was stuck by the literal nature in which Ignatius spoke of the Eucharist (communio...

Lent Day 31: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XX

...but under grace. Now, these people that Cyril was teaching had already gone through the act of baptism, so now he was going over the symbolism and realities of what that meant to them personally. In describing the baptism rite to make one of his points, Cyril gives us a small insight into how the Church in the fourth century performed this, which I always find interesting to see how things have changed or stayed the same over the centuries. Before entering the waters, the one being baptised would strip of their tunic, symbolising “putting off the old man with his deeds” (Col 3:9) and would then be naked as Christ was naked on the cross. In doing this...